Edtech Insiders

Send us Fan Mail Join hosts Alex Sarlin, Ben Wallerstein, and Matt Tower for Week in Edtech, exploring OpenAI’s teacher certifications, kids’ online safety legislation, early literacy declines, college admissions pressures, and what remains irreplaceable in education as AI advances. ✨ Episode Highlights [00:03:00] OpenAI launches teacher certifications, expanding into K–12 [00:05:00] Big Tech cre...

Send us Fan Mail This special EdTech Insiders episode, recorded live at the World Schools Summit in Abu Dhabi, spotlights the Global EdTech Prize winners and finalists sharing how they’re scaling impact across K–12 learning, teacher AI workflows, and digital skills worldwide. 💡 5 Things You’ll Learn in This Episode: Abwaab’s AI-driven grading and human coaching model. Brisk’s rapid global growth...

Send us Fan Mail Charlie Hopkins-Brinicombe is the co-founder of Trophy.so , a gamification infrastructure platform helping EdTech and wellness companies build engaging learning experiences in weeks, not months. With a background in product development and motivation design, Charlie focuses on creating scalable systems that boost retention, habit formation, and learner satisfaction. 💡 5 Things Yo...

Send us Fan Mail Join hosts Alex Sarlin and Ben Kornell as they break down the biggest shifts in global edtech. From PhysicsWallah’s major IPO to Google–OpenAI competition, higher-ed adoption of AI, and new benchmarks shaping the future of learning.  ✨ Episode Highlights [00:07:00] PhysicsWallah’s IPO reshapes Indian edtech and signals renewed global momentum [00:15:00] Google and OpenAI escalate...

Send us Fan Mail Frank Wu is the Co-founder of Aibrary and a Harvard Kennedy School MPP graduate. He led 20+ edtech and AI investments at TAL, helped build Think Academy in the U.S., and previously taught 3M+ students. Susan Wang is the Chief Growth Officer at Aibrary and a Yale and Harvard Business School alum. She led creator and product operations at TikTok and worked in strategy at TAL, with d...

Send us Fan Mail Dr. Sonia Tiwari is a Children's Media Researcher focused on how characters shape learning experiences. With a background spanning animation, game design, and a PhD in Learning Design & Technology, she advises edtech and media companies on ethical, developmentally aligned character design. Her work has been featured at Stanford, Harvard, MIT, UNICEF, and the National Geog...

Send us Fan Mail Dr. Sarah Johnson is the CEO and President of Teaching Lab and Relay Graduate School of Education, leading their AI-enabled product innovation and educator preparation initiatives. She is joined by Teaching Lab Studio fellows: Riz Malik , creator of Coteach , a curriculum-aligned AI assistant for math teachers; Gautam Thapar , CEO of Enlighten AI , a personalized AI grading and fe...

Send us Fan Mail Join hosts Alex Sarlin and Ben Kornell as they break down OpenAI’s unexpected launch of ChatGPT for K–12, Google’s accelerating AI momentum, and what these shifts mean for schools, teachers, and the edtech ecosystem. ✨ Episode Highlights: [00:02:03] OpenAI unveils ChatGPT for K–12 educators—secure, curriculum-aware, and free through 2027 [00:03:02] The emerging AI Classroom Wars...

Send us Fan Mail This special on-site episode of Edtech Insiders was recorded live at the Google AI for Learning Forum in London on November 14, 2024, where we sat down with leaders shaping Google’s next generation of learning tools, including Shantanu Sinha , VP of Google for Education, Tal Oppenheimer , Product Management Director, Google Labs & Learning, Julia Wilkowski , Pedagogy & Lea...

Send us Fan Mail Brandon Busteed is the CEO of Edconic and a nationally recognized leader in work-integrated learning. Formerly President of Kaplan University Partners and Head of Education & Workforce Development at Gallup, he has spent his career building bridges between higher education and industry through research, innovation, and large-scale partnerships. 💡 5 Things You’ll Learn in This...

Send us Fan Mail Join hosts Alex Sarlin and Ben Kornell as they unpack the breakthroughs and backlash following the Google DeepMind AI for Learning Forum in London—and what it means for the future of edtech. ✨ Episode Highlights: [00:03:30] Google DeepMind’s AI for Learning Forum sets a new global tone for learning innovation [00:06:58] Google’s “Learn Your Way” tool personalizes entire textbooks...

Send us Fan Mail This special EdTech Insiders episode features the four Shark Tank winners from EdTech Week. Each founder shares how their breakthrough approach is transforming learning, teaching, and workforce development across K–12, higher education, and global training environments. 💡 5 Things You’ll Learn in This Episode: Lirvana Labs’ multilingual, trauma-informed AI companion. Socrait’s vo...

Send us Fan Mail Rohan Mahimker is Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Prodigy Education , a global leader in digital game-based learning. Rohan launched Prodigy alongside his fellow Co-Founder and Co-CEO Alex Peters in 2011. Today, Prodigy’s flagship math game is used by more than 20 million 1st-8th Grade students and is one of the most popular supplemental classroom tools in the United States. 💡 5 Things...

Send us Fan Mail Mireia Torello is the CEO and co-founder of Aikreate , an EdTech company revolutionizing AI Literacy for students and educators worldwide. With a PhD in Earth Sciences and an Executive MBA from IESE Business School, Mireia brings a unique mix of scientific and entrepreneurial experience. She has led Aikreate through partnerships with schools, universities, and governments and has...

Send us Fan Mail Adam Mangana is the Co-Founder and CEO of Optima Ed , the first full-time VR homeschool backed by Meta. With over 15 years in edtech leadership, he’s pioneering immersive, AI-driven learning experiences that expand access to quality education and reimagine how, where, and why students learn. 💡 5 Things You’ll Learn in This Episode: How Optima Ed blends classical education with cu...

Send us Fan Mail Join hosts Alex Sarlin and Ben Kornell as they recap a post–New York EdTech Week full of highs and hard truths. ✨ Episode Highlights: [00:00:00] Alpha School's backlash and what it reveals about AI-based education. [00:06:58] EdTech’s new K–20 alliance with Microsoft and Google for responsible AI. [00:10:09] The risks and lessons from Alpha School's rapid rise and fall....

Send us Fan Mail Joe Watt co-founded ECMC Group ’s Education Impact Fund to back bold ideas expanding equity and opportunity in education. Today, he leads the Fund as Managing Director, shaping how patient, mission-driven capital creates lasting change. He’s joined by Atin Batra , a Director at the Fund, who leads investments across the learner journey, bringing a global venture lens and a deep fo...

Send us Fan Mail In this special episode, we spotlight the GESAwards , often called the “United Nations of EdTech,” with founder Avi Warshavsky of MindCET   and three inspiring finalists from around the world. They share how they’re harnessing AI, rethinking prison education, and transforming music learning for millions of students. 💡 5 Things You’ll Learn in This Episode:  Why GESAwards are buil...

Send us Fan Mail Join hosts Alex Sarlin and Ben Kornell as they explore the latest developments in education technology leading into NY EDTECH WEEK, from AI adoption in classrooms to major acquisitions and emerging trends across global EdTech. ✨ Episode Highlights: [00:03:39 ] 85% of teachers and 86% of students used AI this year, sparking concerns about disconnection. [00:05:21] Google’s Noteboo...

Send us Fan Mail Join hosts Alex Sarlin and Ben Kornell with guest Anna Edwards of Whiteboard Advisors as they unpack a packed week in education technology. From sweeping cell phone bans to AI reshaping classrooms and colleges, and celebrate a major milestone of 400 episodes of EdTech Insiders! ✨ Episode Highlights: [00:00:00] States expand K–12 phone bans over mental health [00:04:29] Federal sh...

Send us Fan Mail Deborah Howes is the President of Howes Studio and a pioneer in digital museum education. With over three decades leading EdTech programs at top cultural institutions including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, MoMA, the Art Institute of Chicago, and MOCA Los Angeles. She now helps museums and nonprofits transform analog learning into dynamic digital experiences. 💡 5 Things You’ll...

Send us Fan Mail Join hosts Alex Sarlin and Matt Tower as they break down the biggest headlines shaping the future of education technology. From OpenAI’s new video model to major EdTech funding rounds and the rise of curriculum-informed AI. ✨ Episode Highlights [00:03:56] EdTech Week 2025 preview at Columbia University featuring OpenAI’s education keynote. [00:06:50] SETDA report: AI overtakes cy...

Send us Fan Mail Vanessa Castañeda Gill , CEO and Co-Founder of Social Cipher and Lucy Stevens , Co-Founder and Creative Director of Social Cipher , lead a majority-neurodivergent team creating social-emotional learning video games that help neurodivergent youth build self-understanding and connections; inspired by Vanessa’s experiences as an autistic/ADHD Latina, their games and curriculum are no...

Send us Fan Mail Janak Panchal and Rishan Dutia are cofounders of CoGuide , an AI classroom assistant that plans lessons and runs live discussions in 30+ languages. Janak, a former assistant guide with 250+ socratic discussions sessions within the Acton Academy Network, built the first MVP. Rishan leads engineering and builds the Vision OS for hand-raising and participation analytics. 💡 5 Things...

Send us Fan Mail Join hosts Alex Sarlin and Ben Kornell as they dive into the latest headlines shaping the future of education technology, from AI tutors and Gallup polls to new VR career pathways and the impact of phone bans in schools.  ✨ Episode Highlights: [00:03:38] Mashable compares AI tutors from OpenAI, Google, and Anthropic [00:10:45] Gallup poll shows confidence in K-12 at all-time low...